A New Experience to Re-examine the 'Fat' Body -- Asa Ito × Seiran Tsuno Talk Event: Applications now open for in-person & online!

Event Content

Seiran Tsuno is a globally recognized artist who works across the fields of psychiatric nursing and fashion design, and has just graduated from Asa Ito's laboratory this spring.

In graduate school, she conducted "participatory research through making clothes."
This research explores what kind of bodily sensations people who feel "fat" have, and how they interact with their own bodies. It's a study that discovers how to live with a "fat" body by creating clothes.

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A few years ago, when Ms. Tsuno read an interview by Ms. Ito, who appears in "Creating a Place for the Body," she was greatly shocked, thinking, "Isn't this about me?"
When she shared her feelings and the bodily concerns she had kept to herself with Ms. Ito, the response was, "That's interesting. Why is that happening?"
Ms. Tsuno had never before had the idea that her body could be "interesting."

A "sense of excitement, like a light suddenly shining in the darkness, like entering a mystery novel, or like a treasure hunt" was born, and that became the impetus for her to gradually start thinking and talking about her body.

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Ms. Ito says that her student, Ms. Tsuno, is her confidante. Ms. Tsuno attempts to re-examine the "fat" body (not obesity) and find her own words.

Ms. Ito draws out original words that people have kept deep inside and invites them on a treasure hunt. What is Ms. Ito doing at that time?
Words, touch, fabric, colors. An adventure to find a comfortable and "just right" place using various things.

This dialogue between the two is a must-see for those who feel they are not getting along well with their bodies, and those who want to find their own words.

Speaker Introduction

Asa Ito (Ito, Asa)

Born in 1979. Aesthete. Director of DLab⁺, Institute for Future Society Creation, Tokyo Institute of Technology; Professor, Institute for Liberal Arts. Completed doctoral coursework (Ph.D. in Literature) at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology. Her major works include "How Do the Blind See the World?" (Kobunsha), "Stuttering Body" (Igaku-Shoin), "Remembering Body" (Shunjusha), "Ethics of the Hand" (Kodansha Sensho Meche), "Valéry: Philosophy of Art and Body" (Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko), and "The Body Moves: Science of What Can Be Done " (Bungeishunju), among many others. Recipient of the 13th (Akiko Ikeda Memorial) Watakushi, Tsune Nobody Award, the 42nd Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities, the 19th Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Prize, and the 19th Japan Academy Prize for Academic Encouragement.

Seiran Tsuno (Tsuno, Seiran)

Artist, fashion designer, nurse.
Born in 1990. After graduating from nursing university, she worked at a psychiatric hospital while also studying at the fashion school coconogacco, led by Yoshikazu Yamagata. In 2018, her dress collection using a 3D pen, which was selected as a finalist at 'ITS', Europe's largest fashion competition, attracted attention. From 2019, she has been working as a nurse at "Urakawa Bethel's House," a community base for people with mental disabilities in Hokkaido. This spring, she completed her master's degree at Tokyo Institute of Technology Graduate School. She also exhibits her works at art festivals and writes for literary magazines. She held her first solo exhibition "Aperto 20 Seiran Tsuno: Bodies That Cannot Be Together" at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Currently, she is preparing her first book, "The 'Fat' Body (provisional title)" (Bungeishunju).

Event Date and Time (In-person/Online)

Date and Time: May 19, 2026 (Tuesday) 19:00 - 20:30

Location: Junkudo Bookstore Ikebukuro Main Store

https://honto.jp/store/detail_1570019_14HB320.html

*Even if you cannot attend on the day, an archive distribution will be available.
The archive will be distributed from 15:00 on the day after the event.

*For online participants, a "How to Participate" email will be sent to the registered email address after the purchase is completed.

"Creating a Place for the Body" Popular and Reprinted!

Author: Asa Ito

ISBN: 9784255014081

Publisher: Asahi Press Co., Ltd.

Format/Pages: Shirokuhan (B6 size)/312 pages

Website: https://www.asahipress.com/bookdetail_norm/9784255014081/